The new South. (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867, August 23, 1862, Image 2
T HE NE ? SOU T H.
PORT ROYAL, SATURDAY, AUG. 28, 1802.
OURSELVES.
Tius Xkw South agaiu presents itself as a
newspaper to the people of this Department.
Five months since the first number was issued,
and the genuine favor with which it was received
gave ample encouragement for continuing the
enterprise. But scarcely had the second issue
t . - i i_ i i_ ... i:
passed inco me nanus 01 us readers, wnen ra?ileal
ami important changes occurred in the military
government. All the resources of the
printing otKco?then less extensive than now?
were needed by (ien. Hunter in the organ iAition
of the forces of his command. Of course
private interests were cheerfully made secondary
to the military emergency, and the publication
of The New South was temporarily suspended.
Not many days afterwards, Mr. Kadcau,
the editor, was unexpectedly called to
another field of usefulness; and the proprietor,
having more urtrent claims upon his attention.
could not conveniently carry on the publication
until the present time. Now, with an excellent
new press and enlarged printing facilities, he
resumes the enterprise, confident that its prosperous
career will not l?e again interrupted.
The platform of The New South will not be
changed a single plank from that announced in
its 44 inaugural.'' The principles there set forth
it will advocate persistently, conscientiously and
to the best of its ability. We reprint these salutatory
words,?only adding that cordial
support and friendly countenance are asked of
all who can" endorse our position as thus
defiucd:?
" Not of ten lias a newspaper occupied so singular
a position as that filled to-day by The New
South. Issued in a military command, addressed
mostly to soldiers at the seat ol war, its audi
_ ence is yet. y?t purely military, hut in part naval,
itfpart civiH it is possible that some portion may
!?? found at the North, it is not impossible that
we may occasionally reach the car of Southerners,
debarred now for more than a year from learning
what the sentiments and intentions and power of
the nation really are.
In acting as spokesman both to and for this varied
population we shall have several aims in view;
first of all to support, as far as we are able, the national
government. In order to do this more effectually
we shall abstain from the discussion of
exciting political topics, believing that the business
of our most immediate readers is now military,
not political, and that it is the province of the
true patriot at this juncture, to do nothing to divide
the national forces, or to distract their energies
from the one great object of us all, the suppression
of the ltcbellion. Here is a common
ground where all can meet, and on that we mean
to plant ourselves. It shall be our endeavor to
strengthen the hands ot the government and those
who represent it, to incite the courage and fortify
the endurance of its defenders, not to sow the
seeds of discord among those who are themselves
battling against the results of discord. Next we
desire to furnish news of interest and importance
fc to our readers : for the life and basis of a newspaper
are its reliability in this regard. Information
concerning public matters at the North, the move_
luents of the national armies and affairs abroad,
will be presented, in a condensed form, it is true,
but still we trust a correct view of all important
affairs will be afforded. The doings within this
military command will of course receive a due
A share of attention. None of the posts occupied
l?v mir forces will be neglected, and itroeeedintrs
W oi* every nature fit for publication will be chronicled
; but our loyal readers will not complain
if we withhold any thing that could by any chance
prove of service to the enemy. The news of the
fleet, however, the daily life in camp, the health
of the command, and a thousand other details will
at once suggest themselves as proper subjects for
rej>ort. These matters it is hoped, will prove of
sufficient interest to the country at large for us to
rely on a support from other quarters not altogether
insignificant.
And if an occasional copy of a Union paper
should find its way to the deluded and unfortunate
people with whom we are contending, some idea
of the hopelessness of their effort may be afforded
them. When they discover that the Unionists are
so firmly established here as to issue and support
_1
newspajiers, thoy will admit that we have no idea i
| of returning ; they will conclude that our oecupa- 1
tion is not purely a military one; they will perhaps
see how desperate is their own condition, and ;
j submit more readily to the government which has j
i never wished to do more than bring them back to |
th ir allegiance, but which is determined to do
that at every costf and at every hazard, and it' need t
! arises bv the en^lovment of everv means. i
. A ? , 1 i
The Department of Experiments.
Under present eireumstances it may not be
| inappropriate to pass briefly in review the vari- 1
| ous events which have oeeurred in this Pepart;
ment, and to speak of tliem in their relations to :
the great struggle for national existence in
1 which we are now engaged. It may with truth
]... ^-ilil fi.w it a 11 v nt the 'Teat results
' M\ CUMl %**W? ?\ *? y at * v.
which sanguine journalists anticipated would i 1
follow the occupation of these sea islands, have 1
! been achieved :^!>ut, with equal truth it may lie 1
said, that, taking into view the original object 1
of the expedition, and considering the resources :
at its disposal, more has been accomplished than
could, by any right, have been expected.
The expedition under Gen. Sherman, was (
never designed to be the nucleus of an arinv of '
... . i
invasion. It simply was intended to co-operate 1
with the naval forces under Admiral Dupont, in ?
! holding the islands surrounding Port Royal 1
: Harbor as secure places of anchorage and un- '
molested depots for the vessels of the South At- 1
lantie Blockading Squadron. At first it was '
contemplated that the military force should not *
exceed 8000 men and a few batteries of living 1
| artillery,?sufficient to operate in the vicinity of 1
I Port Royal harbor. Subsequently additions 1
were made to the original plan, looking to the 1
occupation of Fernaudina, St Augustine, Jack- 1
I sonville, and other points along the coast, and | 1
a greatlv increased force was assigned to Gen. 11
:
Sherman's command; but the object of the ex- 1
pedition was never changed. The Government '
' only desired stfTb havens and depots for its war i
| vessels, and the collateral advantage of employ- *
i ing a large force of the eneniv to observe and 1
. " i 1
I lire vent irruptions from our different small posts 1
along the coast line. So much in reply to the '
j absurd complaints that this Department has not !
realized the just expectations of the country. i
But we claim for the Department of the South
j an importance second to none for the influence
j it has had upon the public mind and upon the j
I general conduct of the war. Eminently, it has J
been the great experimental department of the
country, and upon its stage have been advanced :
ideas which, more than any others, havefontri-;
buted to mould public opinion in reference to
our national struggle and the wisest mode of j
conducting it. '1
The first experiment clearly developed tinadvantages
of jtriiit land and naval operations.
I The Navy took the Port Royal forts, opening
the way for the army, and the latter repaid the j
i favor by giving undisturbed security to the 11a- j
val anchorage. But there were other and
1
greater advantages growing out of the success
of this experiment. The spirits of the people of
the North which had been drooping for months
under the weight of continued reverses to our;
1 cause, were now enlivened by the sound of the j
1 first piean of victory coining from South Car-!
olina, assuring them that whatever might be the
fate of our armies in the conflict, the supremacy ,
of our sway over the waters of the South was
nlaced beyond dispute. From this time dated '
.4 - ?
J a new era of activity in the. Navy Department, j
Every dockyard felt the impetus imparted by Ad- 1
iniral Dupont's success, in the energetic prepara- ! j
tions made by the nation to avail itself to the ; t
uttermost of the advantages offered by the naval J
supremacy.
The second experiment liegan in Gen. Slier- 1
nan's inaugural proclamation, where an attempt
ivas made to conciliate the stiff-necked Palmetto
generation and win tlietn hack to their allegiance
iy reminiscences of the happy years they had
lived under the protection of the llag which now
hey sought to displace. To these honeyed
vords the "chivalrous and hospitable people of
he sovereign State of South Carolina," would
scarcely deign to listen. It is certain that the
.'Xperiinent of conciliation jiroved a signal failire.
We do not join in the clamor raised against
Jen. Sherman for the inactivity which followed
he non-success of his pr 1:111 iam.Mito. ()n the
ontrary, considering the force at his connnaml,
ic did all that couhl rightfully have been e\pcc-^^^^H|
All, mm ill H ill [ >l I W I *ru uiuir mall n
natch within his reach. lie broke his force
a desire to occupy
>ossihlr point whereon lie could get a
ind no beneficial result of lasting good
e<picnt upon the disintegration.
A third and brilliantly successful e\perimcn^^^H^|
>f this Department was the reduction of Fort l'uaski.
It was there first demonstrated that rifled 1
irojectiles have an absolute domination over mamiry
fortifications ; and from that boinbardir lit
nust date a new era in the art of attacking and
lefending fortified places. It may not be ^enTally
known that the work of reducing Fort
,'ulaski from Tybee Island was undertaken by
jell, (iillrnore in the face of dissuasion from the
nost eminent military authorities. The attempt
o breach a pile ?>f masonry from batteries of
arthworks was regarded as impossible. But
he shot which tore into ruin and pulverized ino
dust the walls of Pulaski, overthrew much
noro than brick, stone and mortar, and upset
nam theories of infinitely heavier calibre than
my metal used in the works upon C'ockspur
island. The lesson taught by Tottleben in the
lefenee of Sebastopol,uf the. value <if vai'il.nV.rks - L
br resisting artillery, was not one iota more incresting
to the military mind than the unmistacable
proof, given by the batteries of Tybee
island, of the utter futility of solid masonry
ivhen assaulted by the new projectiles and
icavicr calibres of modern war. This experi
mnt will War fruit far into the future, anil to.
lit* confidence which induced (ietu Hunter to.
dace all the resources of his Department at
leu. Gilmore's disposition,?regardless of the
generally accepted opinion of high military auliorities,?the
country, and especially the miliary
professions, will hold themselves large ly
indebted.
But the most important experiment of the
Department of the South, under (Jen. Hunter's
ulmiuistration, has been of a purely moral significance'.
Himself not a politician, the force
jf his ideas, the candor with which he has
ivowed them, and his frank courage in facing all
the responsibilities thereupon attendant, have
lone more ^whether lor good or evil,) to set the
liiiul of the country seriously at work, considerng
the true issues of tiiis war, than all the
tgcucics of journalism, both Houses of Congress,
ind all the executive branches of our country
combined. His action in declaring "Slavery and
martini law incompatible" and of arming a regiinent
of blacks, has marked him a man ot strong
convictions and strortg will to press his convictions
to their fruition. Ilis experiment in this regard
ive shall at present refrain from discussing,?looking
upon its results as not sufficiently developed to
ipve uaia lor posiu\e conclusions.
In conclusion;?to the Department of the South
md the lessons which have emanated from its experiments,
we claim that a high place will be given
in the moral history of this struggle. It has not
been a brilliant stage for the display of military
rapacity, or the acquirement of those laurels whoso
leaves are green forever ;?but to the utmost extent
of the powers with which it was endowed, and
even to a greater extent than could have been justly
hoped, it has been a Department of ideas?a
;reat fountain of motive power, radiating its iniuences,
far and wide, through the public mind.